Nationwide, close to 40 million adults lack a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) credential. About a quarter of high school freshmen do not graduate in four years, and while many high school dropouts eventually do attend GED preparation classes, too few ever pass the GED exam or go on to college. Students with only a…

Nationally, community college graduation rates remain stubbornly low, despite strides made in access--and they are particularly so for low-income students, nontraditional students, and students who need to take developmental (remedial) courses. In 2014, three schools in Ohio--Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community…

This is the companion report to "Early Progress: Interim Research on Personalized Learning" which documents the teacher survey results for the 2013-14 school year. Researchers obtained and analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data from each school to create a broad picture of the schools' efforts to implement personalized learning…

MDRC launched the Opening Doors demonstration to test four distinct interventions that were designed to help more students persist in community college and accomplish their academic and personal goals. This report describes the impacts of a performance-based scholarship program with a counseling component on academic success and persistence among…

Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) was developed by the community and technical colleges in Washington State to increase the rate at which adult basic skills students enter and succeed in postsecondary occupational education and training. Under the I-BEST model, basic skills instructors and career-technical faculty jointly…

From July 1995 through September 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Ford Foundation (Ford) operated a demonstration of the Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP). QOP offered intensive and comprehensive services to help at-risk youth graduate from high school and enroll in postsecondary education or training. QOP was mainly an…

Describes ongoing work at the Howard Street Tutoring Program in Chicago. Second and third grade students who score lowest on reading pretests and volunteers from all walks of life are selected. The tutoring model, the program's assessment plan, the program's implications, and replication requirements are considered. (GH)

Describes "Start Making a Reader Today" (SMART), a volunteer tutoring program that helps K-2 students at risk of reading difficulties. Finds that the program improved students' word reading, reading fluency, and word comprehension, though level of performance at end of second grade was still much lower than that of average-achieving…

The Open Learning Initiative (OLI) is an open educational resources project at Carnegie Mellon University that began in 2002 with a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. OLI creates web-based courses that are designed so that students can learn effectively without an instructor. In addition, the courses are often used by instructors…

These two recipients of this year's Alan C. Purves Award reflect on their work (reported in "RTE" Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 269-303) on "A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School" and the lessons they learned from their original research study as they tried to…

This study assessed the impact of the HORIZONS Student Support Program on participating college freshmen at Purdue University (Indiana). HORIZONS is a federally funded program designed to increase retention of first generation, low income, or physically disabled students. The cornerstone of the project and the vehicle through which most services…

Describes the success of the Freshman Seminar Program at the University of South Carolina, designed to retain African-American students. Discusses the personal and social development needs of African-American students and how the Freshman Seminar contributes to their development. Presents data showing retention results. (MAB)

This article describes a randomized evaluation of The Reading Edge, a reading program for middle school students. The Reading Edge was designed to integrate findings of research on cooperative learning and metacognitive reading strategies into a replicable reading instructional package that could be implemented effectively in Title I middle…

Evaluates a computerized reading management and enrichment program's effects on college-bound ninth graders attending Cherryville Junior-Senior High School, in Gaston County, North Carolina. When total reading scores were compared on third-, sixth-, and eighth-grade California Achievement Tests, the Cherryville students (five-year program…

Effects of variations in a schoolwide restructuring program, Success for All, in Baltimore (Maryland) on student reading achievement and other outcomes in elementary schools with large numbers of disadvantaged children are presented. Strong positive effects of the intervention are recognized, and program replication is discussed. (SLD)